RAPTORS GM ‘MADE SOME GOOD MOVES’
Former teammates say Gasol brings high hoops IQ to impressive Toronto lineup
When Marc Gasol checked in for his first appearance as a Raptor in Toronto on Monday night, he immediately found himself in a brief mini-huddle with a pair of old Memphis teammates, Kyle Lowry and Ed Davis.
Lowry and Gasol are teammates again in Toronto following last week’s surprising deal, while Davis, a member of the Brooklyn Nets and once a regular practice foe of Gasol’s during his 1.5 seasons with the Grizzlies, spent some time banging with him again on Monday.
Even though he’d had only one practice and one game with the team, Gasol looked right at home against Brooklyn, making 7 of 9 shots for 16 points and adding six rebounds, a steal, a block and a couple of assists.
Davis think Gasol should be an ideal fit in Toronto.
“He definitely makes this team better, just because he can just do so much on the floor offensively and defensively,” Davis said.
“He understands coverages, schemes. He picks up on things fast. Former defensive player of the year that people forgot about, but I think he definitely is going to help this team a lot.”
Demarre Carroll, the Nets forward who started his career alongside Gasol in Memphis, had similar thoughts.
“Biggest thing is IQ and winning, he got that winning experience,” Carroll said as he made his way out of the arena following the game.
“His IQ is amazing. He plays very unselfish and I feel like he’s going to bring a lot of those intangibles to the game. Those are things that you really can’t find a lot of guys around the league that do those types of things. Of course he can score the ball and rebound the ball, do all those kinds of things, but I think his IQ and his winning ways are going to help (the Raptors) a lot,” Carroll said.
Both Davis and Carroll think Toronto management has done some nice work in building a team clearly going for it this season.
“It’s a lot of good, older veteran guys, with a sprinkle of a couple of young guys,” Carroll said.
“You just got to put it all together and see how it works and they’re doing a good job.”
“I think that Marc makes them better and they picked up Jeremy Lin, so I guess that makes up for losing Delon Wright and C.J. Miles,” said Davis, who played with Lin for a season with the
Los Angeles Lakers.
“Masai, he made some good moves, man. See if it pays off for him.”
LIN TO FACE WIZARDS?
Lin is expected to make his Raptors debut on Wednesday against the Washington Wizards and he’ll be sporting a familiar number.
Lin, who will clear waivers a couple of hours before game time, will be in, assuming all of the paperwork is taken care of and he’ll be wearing No. 17.
In an Instagram post Tuesday, Lin, the veteran who was bought out by the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, was depicted wearing a throwback purple Raptors jersey. Lin said in the comments that he texted Jonas Valanciunas to ask for permission to wear 17, the number Valanciunas wore during his time with the Raptors before being traded to Memphis. Valanciunas said yes and Lin thanked him.
Lin wore No. 17 during his breakout year in New York and while with the Los Angeles Lakers. His other choice, No. 7, is claimed by Lowry. In an earlier post, Lin said: “I have so much left to give to the game. Hyped to join the Raptors.”
The Raptors planned to sign Lin regardless, but the injury that will keep Fred Vanvleet out of action for at least three weeks made the timing fortuitous.
BOSH CALLS IT QUITS
Chris Bosh hasn’t been able to play basketball in years because of the risk of blood clots, but until recently he had always expressed hope that he’d be able to return to the court at some point.
Bosh closed the door on that idea in a recent appearance on the Bill Simmons Podcast. Bosh said he will officially retire when Miami retires his No. 1 jersey on March 26.
Bosh, who still ranks near the top of most categories in the Raptors record book, also said on the podcast that while he wanted to carry the franchise on his back, several things had frustrated him, including customs waiting times and the reluctance of other star players to come to Toronto.
It’s a lot of good, older veteran guys, with a sprinkle of a couple of young guys.